Severe anxiety & panic

[Jmdhkd]

Hi everyone,

I have struggled with crippling anxiety my entire life. Up until about 14 it was hard to do anything on my own. I was constantly having panic attacks and then would just live in fear until the next one came on. I would get hot, shake, throw up, have a racing heart beat and literally just feel like I was doomed with no end in sight. From about 14-21 I was able to live a completely normal life with no worries until my 3rd year of college. I started to have panic attacks that made me feel like I was going to faint. I was not used to this type of attack and it was a comepletly different feeling, I thought I’m for sure dying. I went on Zoloft 25mg and the panic faded away...but I still had those dizzy attacks here and there. Fast forward to now.... I am in my late 20’s, married with kids. Along with children of course comes stress. Am i doing ok? Should my kids be more advanced? Am i socializing them enough? Was my father in law right about what he said about this and that regarding my kids? Etc. I started noticing my anxiety heightening. I went to my doctor and she upped my meds to 100mg. Shortly after she suggested trying Effexor instead. I was on it for 3 months with no results. I then had my worst panic attack i have ever had. It made me so down that I felt like I’m truly just done and wanted to give up on life. That scared me terribly. I have never been in that situation where i had a suicidal thought. I instantly stopped taking the pill. I am now about 2.5 weeks in to zoloft 100mg again. I am still fighting constant panic attacks all day long. I cannot drive or even leave my town in the car with someone else. I feel like I’m going to throw up at all times. I’m having trouble sleeping at night wondering if this will ever stop happening again? It is affecting my life immensely as you can imagine having kids and a husband.

[jessmn62312]

Hi Jmdhkd, i feel your pain. I too suffer with crippling anxiety. Along with panic attacks, ptsd, social anxiety and depression. I have had it since i was 15, i am now 33 years old. There was a time i would get such bad attacks i would go to the hospital and they would just give me a xanax or valium and send me home. I have been married for 15 years. no kids, not yet. I have been waiting because i want to get my anxiety under control first. I thought i could just figure it out myself, i realized you just can't do it alone. I just joined this website yesterday looking for some hope. It really has helped. hearing other stories, knowing you are not alone. I have an appointment to see a doctor finally, which i am looking forward to. I will let you know how everything works out if you would like. Maybe what my doctor suggests will be different from your doctor.

[Jmdhkd in reply to jessmn62312]

Thanks so much. It’s nice to see I’m not alone, just wish it could be better for us both! I agree. Reading a lot of posts on here have really given me hope. It’s very smart of you to work on yourself before bringing kids into the picture. Parenting in my condition is very hard! I hope your doctor appointment goes well!!! =]